54 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



This cutworm and its allies are usually noticeable in early spring 

 because of their depreciations on young plants. Clean culture is 

 one of the best methods of preventing injury and in the event of 

 their occurring in numbers, poison baits, such as fresh clover 

 dipped in paris green water or dry bran mixed with poison may 

 be employed to destroy the pests. One of the most satisfactory 

 methods, if the area is not too large, is digging out the cutworms 

 and destroying them. 



Shade tree insects 



Sugar maple borer ( P 1 a g ] o n o t u s 

 speciosus Say). This destructive 

 maple borer continues' its operations in 

 the beautiful shade trees ornamenting the 

 village streets in the State. It appears to 

 be particularly destructive in the central 

 western part, and our attention has re- 

 cently been called to severe injuries which 

 were observed by us some seven years 

 earlier. The maples in the village of Le- 

 roy, N. Y., appear to have been excep- 

 tionally unfortunate so far as attacks by 

 this species are concerned. A consider- 

 able number of trees are infested by the 

 borer and not a few have been severely 

 injured. Earlier observations and work 

 have shown the practicability of freeing 

 infested maples very largely from this 

 pest. Inhabited galleries should be care- 

 fully investigated and exposed until the 

 borer is found and destroyed, either with 

 a hooked wire or with a knife. Such 

 wounds should be carefully dressed with 

 a protective material, one of the best of 

 which is a thick, pasty mixture of fresh air-slacked lime and cow 

 dung. A covering of tar or a cheap paint is also very effective in 

 protecting the exposed wood from fungus infection and further 

 insect operations. 



An exceptionally interesting observation on the work of this 

 insect was made in connection with a recent trip to Leroy. Seven 

 years before, namely, in September 1899, ^^^ photographed a tree in 

 that village which had been badly injured by this insect and figure 

 2 represents the condition of the trunk at that time. The tree 



Fig. 2 Injury produced by a 

 transverse burrow in a sugar 

 maple about i8 inches in diam- 

 eter (Author's illustration) 



